Wednesday, October 31, 2007

One thousand Orthodox Rabbis agree Jews need to be perfected

On the October 30 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, co-host Alan Colmes said to his guest, conservative author and pundit Ann Coulter: "I haven't spoken to you since you made your infamous comment saying that people like me need to be 'perfected,' " adding, "So how about embracing one of the great Christian virtues, as Yushke discussed, humility, and apologizing to all those people you offended by that comment?"

Colmes was referring to Coulter's statement, documented by Media Matters for America, on the October 8 edition of CNBC's The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch that "we" Christians "just want Jews to be perfected." Responding to Colmes, Coulter stated: "[I]f you're going to go around citing all the people I have offended, Alan, I have 1,000 Orthodox rabbis supporting me."

Later, Colmes asserted: "You claim 1,000 Orthodox rabbis support you. I don't know who they are, but I can tell you, you know the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Congress, and many others have condemned you for that. Do you care?" Coulter responded: "I wear it as a badge of honor. It's like citing the National Organization of Women to tell me how all women feel. The point is: This is the same old fight we see all the time with the irreligious trying to stir up trouble with the religious."

Enjoyed not having those telemarketers call you for the past five years?

Well, then it's time to reregister with the National Do Not Call Registry. Registraions are valid for five years, and since the registry was started in 2003, now is a good time to make sure that your entry doesn't lapse.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Hilchos Rebbishe Shiduchim invitations

Halachah #1 - If you are a big Rebbe, or the son of one, do NOT, under any circumstance print the Kallah's name in any invitation about the Shiduch, because someone may get the impression that the Choson is marrying a girl R"L (and besides the Yichus in large bold font looks much better).(Invitation on the left.)

Halachah #2 - If you are not a Super-Rebbe and have nothing to prove, then, at the risk of being ostracized in the Rebbishe community, you can bedieved print the Kallah's name in the Chasunah invitation.(Invitation on the right.)

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Rabbonim oppose new fifteen story building in Boro-Park

Boro-Park Rabbonim are vehemently against the erection of a new fifteen-story apartment building on 20th Avenue in Boro-Park. The Rabbonim, specifically the Novominsker Rav whose Yeshivah is in the neighborhood, have issued many Kol Koires and Pashkevilin against the owner. They claim that by building such a large new building in the Yiddishe neighborhood it is sure to bring unwanted elements into the neighborhood. Ironically when these same Rabbonim built their Shul, Yeshivah and Chasunah Hall in the neighborhood they didn't have a problem with blocking their next-door neighbors' windows or with exponentially increasing the traffic and noise on the block. However, now that someone is building near them they will do anything to stop him.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

To fress or not to fress, that is the question

Williamsburg men fressing kigel and kishke on the street with teriyaki sauce dripping down their beard, what a pretty sight. Aren't there enough fresseries on Lee Avenue without a Mobile Oichel B'shik Unit?

Some hate the new food truck, and obviously some love it, the guy wouldn't have so much business if nobody wanted it. Williamsburgers have been protesting the food truck since it started, yet business keeps getting better. If it is so wrong to have a food truck in Williamsburg, and if the Rabbonim have so much power over their people, then why does anyone have to protest against it? Just tell the people it is usser and they will stay away. Right? Why is it so difficult to deal with such a minor nuisance in the tightly controlled Williamsburg neighborhood? Could it be that people have had it with the word 'NO' already and are just doing whatever they want?

One thing this proves for sure, people like their fress more than their Rabbonim. You can tell people whatever you want when it comes to voting for a specific candidate and they will listen. However, come between a guy and his potato kigel and you lose big time.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Hasidim Get a Food Truck

Two months ago, Nathan Lichtenstein launched a business he hopes will become an empire -- or a fleet, really. Sub on Wheels is a kosher food truck catering to the Hasidic community in Williamsburg, but which welcomes us all. (Lichtenstein had never heard the term "hipster" before, but cheerfully reported that he gets "all types.") I discovered it after seeing some friends, the band Rainbowsssss, play their psychedelic/improvisational/ experimental music the other night at Rock Star Bar. Not to get all sentimental or anything, but don't you love New York?

Lichtenstein, who called me "sweetie," but who somehow was not creepy, was born and raised in Williamsburg, but settled upstate. He used to own a restaurant in Monsey, New York, where he lives, but closed it two years ago when another guy opened a place down the street with 100 more seats and a very similar menu. Bastard!

To my slight disappointment, Sub on Wheels, which, just before midnight on a Thursday, had a steady stream of customers, doesn't serve focus particularly on Jewish food, but offers a mix of mainstream favorites, many inspired from other ethnicities, like the beef teriyaki sandwich, the sausage and peppers sub, and even schnitzel(!). For the record, they do have pastrami, chicken noodle soup, knishes, kugel, and an Israeli salad. We went for the popular "mixed grill" sub, at Lichtenstein's suggestion. It's one of the more expensive items, at $9.50, but it was about the size of my arm, making it plenty for two people. It was no masterpiece, but a grubby and enjoyable mix of beef, chicken, and grilled vegetables.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Finally a Community Alert that actually alerts about something

Better late than never. Finally, albeit many months late, the community gets a Community Alert that actually cautions about real danger. The most surprising part is that the Hamodia actually printed it even though it actually says something useful.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Saturday, October 20, 2007

An open letter from a former Yeshivah boy about his personal experiences with Rebbe abuse and brutality

NOTE:The opinions in this letter do not reflect those of the blog administration, nor does the blog administration vouch for the accuracy of any of the facts stated in this letter. This letter is the sole opinion and personal account of its author.

I had Rokeach in Chasan Sofer. He "taught" the 6th grade when I had him and was as brutal as one of the posters said he was. There was this kid in my class named, Yaakov D'Vorkas (spelling?), who threw a spitball in class. Rokeach's face turned a deep red. He went over to the kid, and threw him against some lockers we had in the room and began kicking him as hard as he could. I remember the kid was curled up in a fetal position while he took this beating. As he was doing this, Rokeach kept saying in Yiddish, which I will paraphrase, "you are not allowed to throw spitballs in my class." He said this over and over. I am still haunted by this. I just dreamt about it the other day actually. (hell, I was lucky. my poor brothers went to the Viener Yeshiva and had Rabbi Gold in the 4th grade. This guy, who had a terrible speech defect, would slap the kids silly. It later turned out he and his wife were running a heimeshe brothel on the side and i remember hearing something about drugs.)

I wish I could say this was the only time I was exposed to violence, neglect, or sexual abuse, but it wasn't. There myriad times this happened.

I went to Yeshiva Torah Temimah too. Kolko was there, Margo was there, etc. Margo is a fat, money grubbing blowhard. Everyone in the yeshiva knew that and we all mocked him openly. I had a friend in high school who was wearing a yarmulke that apparently too small by Margo's standards so he snatched it off my friend's head and threw it to the ground. I thought that was a wonderful way to instill a deep love of the religion for one.

I could go on and on about the sexual abuse that was covered up, the violence that was perpetrated against us, the neglect (especially in Camp Adas Yereim - Meir Birnhack was there - wow was he brutal. There was a junior counselor there one year when i had Levi Kranz as a counselor who sprayed deodorant in my bunkmate's eyes because he had used some curse word and wouldn't apologize. Camp Na'arim was only slightly better. I cant remember the owner's name but he was another fat moneygrubber who had a violent temper. You definitely made sure to steer clear of him. I went to Yeshiva Darchei Moshe in flatbush, off of ocean parkway and Ave M I think. I had a rabbi there, mind you I was 18 at the time who had a real fondness for me and would constantly attempt to grope me. I left pretty soon after that.), and the sheer stupidity of the people running these yeshivas, camps, etc, but I wont.

Suffice it to say, I am not frum. I wouldn’t eat kosher food if i was starving to death, I have a visceral reaction to anything relating to Orthodox Judaism and if I had kids I would never let them near a yeshiva of any sort - orthodox, reform, conservative, whatever.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Expanding B & H Photo gives workers five-day work-week

Someone has finally told B & H Photo that in New York people have five-day work-weeks. B & H Photo is now letting all their workers have another day off besides for Shabbos. People that work in the mail-order department can take Sundays off, while all other workers have to work on Sunday and can take a weekday off. I guess they realized that their work-horses were being overworked and underpaid.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Channeling the Satmar energy in a positive constructive way

First, let me start by saying that there is no such thing as a bad child. Every single child is inherently good and wants to be good, be it Satmar, Lubavitch, Belz, Bobov, Vizhnitz, Ger and even Mushelo. It is the adults, that have full control over the child and their entire world, that are responsible for children and how they turn out.

It is true, all kids fight. Some fighting between kids is a natural and healthy expression of life and is a very important learning experience for them. However, what was going on at this Satmar Yeshivah with these children was above and beyond any measure of sanity. These kids weren't just fighting, they were only fighting. There was not a minute during that lunch recess that there wasn't at least three simultaneous vicious fights going on. The fights weren't even fair fights, most of the time it was ten kids beating the living daylights out of one poor nebechdike looking kid.

Why are these kids fighting so much? Why are they so destructive?

Why? Because they have nothing else to do. Kids have a lot of pent-up energy from sitting in class all day. They need to do activities to get it out of their system. That's normal and healthy. However, when the adults in charge don't let them do anything constructive, such as playing ball, the energy turns into a destructive force. A force which gets carried on into later life and gets translated into fighting with others.

The picture below is being sold on an Ebay auction. The following is part of the item description.

Original fine art photograph, in black and white, of an Orthodox Jewish woman and her daughters on 13th Avenue in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York. Note that the daughters are all wearing the same skirts and the same shoes. Also note that the daughters are pushing strollers with three more children (2 on the left and 1 on the right). This mother, who was still in her 20s, certainly showed the effects of bearing six children.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Simcha tells a reporter that he thinks it's a great thing to take things from the garbage, even though the Mayor has just signed into law a bill that levies a $2000 fine to people that do so.

Here's Councilman Simcha Felder explaining how his recent liberation of an abandoned filing cabinet from City Hall, which is now being put to good use in his district office, wasn't theft but rather the constructive reallocation of a taxpayer-financed resource that was being wrongfully neglected.

He also confesses to being a big fan of garbage picking, which he calls "one of the best things about living in the city," but said (off-camera, sadly) he's no longer allowed to bring his curbside finds home as his wife is concerned about their provenance (and potential insect infestation).

Felder has become known as something of a garbage afficianado, proposing a number of sanitation-related bills, including the nuisance flyer ban and limiting the hours in which residents can be ticketed for having litter on their property.

Satmar kids spending their lunch time beating each other up on the street. They're probably using this valuable time in cheider to train for the real holy fight against the Zaloinys when they grow up. Who knows, maybe if they were only allowed to play ball or do something constructive during their free time there might be less violence.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Two factions of a religious group each stage leadership elections and declare their slates the winners. At stake is control of millions of dollars worth of synagogues and other property.

Can a secular court decide who won based on legal standards like congregation bylaws? Or does the dispute involve religious issues that are beyond the court's jurisdiction?

Those questions are at the heart of a battle that Satmar Hasidic leaders in Kiryas Joel and Brooklyn have been waging for six years and will bring tomorrow before the Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York.

A battery of lawyers in Albany will argue two Satmar cases hinging on the same election conflict. That the seven judges have agreed to hear the appeal indicates they see a broad legal issue in it that rises above an isolated squabble.

"A central question in the matter is whether the leadership dispute can be decided by neutral principles of law," said Nelson Tebbe, a Brooklyn Law School professor specializing in religion and law.

Neutral principles, in this context, are those that can be decided "without resorting to religious doctrine," he said.

The cases stem from a power struggle within the Satmar Hasidic movement of ultra-Orthodox Jews. The sect is based in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and has a fast-growing enclave of 20,000 in Orange County's Kiryas Joel.

One side is loyal to Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, the other to his younger brother, Rabbi Zalmen Teitelbaum. Each brother has been declared Satmar grand rebbe since their father — Moses Teitelbaum, the previous leader of the movement — died last year.

The two factions staged separate elections in 2001 to choose lay officers of the Williamsburg branch, the people controlling its substantial assets.

The result was two sets of "winners" — and a bitter court battle that began in Brooklyn and migrated to Orange County in 2005 as part of a dispute over control of the Kiryas Joel cemetery.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Being led by outsiders

One of the oddest phenomena going on lately in the Heimishe velt is that we are being led by outsiders. If you have ever been to a Heimishe agency in Boro-Park or Williamsburg, be it medical, early intervention or social services, you will notice something very interesting. Not many of the people that work there are Heimish at all. Even more disturbing is that the people that run the agency are usually the least Heimish of them all. The higher you go on the ladder in these agencies the less Heimish the people are.

So now you will say, "What do I care if they are Heimish or not?" Well, good question. How many Chasidishe people do you see running agencies in Queens or even in Flatbush for that matter. Why? Because it's not their arena. It's not their area of expertise.

The point is, we have people from outside neighborhoods and cultures that have no clue and no understanding to our specific way of life. They don't understand us or our priorities in life. Yet they feel perfectly comfortable telling us how to do things. What is even more disturbing about this is that they don't even care to learn about us, or to understand us. What they like to do is barge into our neighborhood and impress their own value systems on us.

The scariest part of all this is that these people are given such a powerful position over us despite the fact that they don't even like us or respect us. Why do we allow this to happen? Why do we give these people such power over us?

It is time that we put a stop to this and get our own agency leaders from our own community. People that share our values and culture. We have smart educated people that are part of the Heimishe community that understand and respect it. Those are the people that we should have running our Heimishe agencies, not people from other neighborhoods that have an axe to grind.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Man who previously falsely purported to be psychologist now giving hypnosis classes

A Monsey man, Zev Ballen, who falsely presented himself as a licensed psychologist, and was ordered by New York State to stop doing so, is now giving hypnosis classes to train people how to hypnotize themselves and others. I wonder if he will hypnotize them into believing he is something else this time.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Plea in Lakewood: 'We've all got to calm down'

Lakewood is on edge again.

An Orthodox rabbi lies in an intensive care unit, three days after being severely beaten about the head as he walked to synagogue. Police say his assailant, who wielded an aluminum bat in a surprise attack and then fled, is African-American.

For everyone in Lakewood, an uncomfortable melting pot in Ocean County of Orthodox Jews, blacks and Hispanics, the beating of Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz is terrible news for more than one reason. They are still recovering from the tensions stoked in 2006 when a group of Orthodox men accosted an African-American teenager. The only man charged in the case was found not guilty of assault this summer.

Some say they are fearful Tuesday's attack might lead Orthodox Jews to retaliate.

"We've all got to calm down. There is a very delicate balance in town, and we are all praying that this incident doesn't escalate," Mayor Ray Coles said yesterday, one day after community leaders called an emergency meeting to share information. "We have to make this work."

Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, a prominent voice within the Orthodox community, sounded just as somber.

"It would be a very bad outcome if people felt this was one community pitted against another, which it is certainly not," he said. "Everybody feels violated, no matter what community you come from."

James Waters, a Lakewood resident on the state board of the NAACP, agreed that when "something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us."

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

While writing a recent article I was unsure how many people had attended a certain event. I happened to mention to someone that as a JTA article on the same subject would soon appear, I would see what number they gave for the crowd and base my estimate accordingly.

"But their number will be an exaggeration," he said.

"Why should they exaggerate?" I asked him, knowing that the JTA is a professional agency, not a propaganda operation.

It was to this question that I received his "Why shouldn't they exaggerate" reply.

To be honest, his question rang so strange in my ears that I had a hard time formulating an answer. And then a few minutes after the conversation's conclusion it came to me: Why shouldn't they exaggerate? Because doing so is false!

This point is obvious of course. But not apparently to this ostensibly religious Jew. To him, the question wasn't why someone should depart from the truth, but why one would ever tell the truth in the first place.

Unfortunately, this gentleman is not alone in placing a very low premium on the value of truth. Unfortunately, some Jews, including -- or perhaps especially -- Chassidic Jews, will make sure never to shake a woman's hand and to always faithfully wear a black hat but lie (stretching the truth is perhaps a more delicate term) with astonishing ease.

When one witnesses such behavior one wonders what makes these people so religious after all. One also wonders what kind of impression these Jews make on other people who may be unobservant or non-Jewish but whose inner religious core and rectitude are stronger and more Godly than these "truth stretchers." Surely this cavalier attitude towards truth does not inspire others to praise the God whom these Jews (especially those wearing black hats or beards)apparently represent.

The impulse among many to come closer to God by becoming better Jews is laudable. However, these Jews and all Jews should attach greater importance to basic Biblical values and laws, such as the value of truth, than they do to ensuring that their tzitzis are clearly visible to all.

The question looms over the Democratic primary: Why are rank-and-file Democrats so determined to nominate Hillary Clinton for president? With her lead now growing and her vote share registering in the mid-40s, she is increasingly likely to win the nomination. Why?

There is every reason why the Democrats should be more cautious. Desperate to win and bring eight years of Republican rule to a close, they realize that Hillary is a red flag to many voters and would be the most polarizing nominee they could select. While Obama or Edwards could likely reach out to independents and even Republicans, Hillary cannot. One either loves her or hates her. Her very candidacy elicits memories of all the Clinton scandals, from Whitewater and Marc Rich to the gifts to the Rose Law Firm, the Chinese campaign contributions, the New Square Hasidic pardons, the Lincoln Bedroom and Monica. Why do Democrats willingly take on that baggage when two relative virgins beckon as alternatives? And why do they want to nominate the first woman to run for president when there is an obvious danger that sexism could yet rear its ugly head? Why take these risks? Indeed, why do they seem to almost insist on taking them?

Democrats today are seeking a warrior, a gladiator, not a president when they cast their ballots in their primaries and caucuses. Angered by the so-called defeat of 2000 and scarred by the upset of 2004, there is an intensity to their desire to win that dwarfs all other emotions and considerations. They are not nominating a president. They are nominating a candidate. They are not interested in the credentials of a possible president in selecting their standard-bearer; they seek the characteristics of a fighter, a combatant, one who will win.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Monday, October 08, 2007

Simcha Felder trash cans not working out too well

The new trash cans with the smaller hole on top, sponsored by Councilman Simcha Felder, seem to be doing a very bad job of keeping Boro-Park streets clean. The smaller mouth obviously does nothing to deter dumpers, but rather makes a nice big ol' mess for everyone else. I guess it's true what they say about the similarities between politicians and trash cans; they both need to be changed often and they're both full of it.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Molester Yechiel Brauner relieves himself in front of children

Yechiel (Jerry) Brauner

Convicted Boro-Park child molester Yechiel Brauner was observed by numerous adult witnesses as he urinated in front of a group of children. Brauner, who shows no shame or remorse for the molestations that he has perpetrated, continues to roam freely and mingle with children of all ages without the least bit of supervision.

Monday, October 01, 2007

An Arab woman flipped out at Adventurers Kiddie Amusement Park (formerly Nellie Bly) after she was told that her kids were not the right height to safely go on the ride. The Arab woman came with her two kids to the park, ironically, on a day that it just so happened to be rented out for Jewish people. When it came her kids' turn to go on the ride, the operator measured them and told her that the younger one was too short and the older one was too tall for the ride. Instead of following the safety rules of the ride, the woman flipped out and told her kids to ignore the guy and to just proceed to the ride. When the ride operator told her that he would not let them on, she began screaming at him and pointed to some Jewish kids on the ride, claiming that they were also too tall but were allowed to go on the ride because they were Jewish. The man told her that she was wrong and that he didn't care who it was as long as they met the height requirements. The woman did not give up and told her kids to go ahead on the ride and not to listen to anyone. The ride operator then switch the ride off, sent everyone out and closed down the ride. The person that rented out the park had to come and calm the situation down.

I do not believe this was a lubavitcher who wrote this. If it was then he should be embarrassed. This is not who a chossid of the Rebbe speaks.

We are not beholden to OTHER PEOPLES RABANIM AND MINHAGIM. We are Lubavitchers. We have our own minhagim and our own ways.

Other groups may not like it but thats just tough. We don't force them to accept chabad rulings and chabad minhagim. To each thier own. The Gadolim have done nothing to reach out to Chabad for 20 years.

All Misnagdim and other Chassidim do is knock Lubavitch. Other groups have been copying Chabad concepts (baruch hashem) for close to 40 years. When everyone said mivtzoim was horrible, we did it. Now today groups like Aish are having Friday night campaigns to get women to light candles. Going on (what was once considered treif) college campuses, inventing the non frum to Holiday gathers, telling people about Moshiach, getting them to keep Shabbos. The Rebbe and Lubavitch brought "kiruv" to America and while I'm glad, B"H people are copying it its just another proof that people just hate what they do not understand. Once they "get it" they themselves embrace it.

I know hope just like with so many other things, people will see the briiliance of the Rebbe with regards to "bans" and how some things should be taken care of and prevented (like Tanius by S.B.Ha.) then just banning.

S.B .H.was very important to the Rebbe and that should make it important to every (real) Chossid.

This guy writing this letter has no Chossid left inside of him, if he is in fact a real Lubavcitcher.

By the way, this comment is coming from one of the biggest Anti Meshichists in Crown Heights. I often spoeak out against the Yellow flaggers and am honestly ashamed at what I see them do and say.

.... but for g-ds sake man, get it together, even I see your letter as a fraud. There is enough to be embarrassed about in our own community, but to make up ridiculous letters (again if you are, which I don't think you are) a real Lubavcitcher.

We have different hanhagahs and OUR CHABAD REBBEIM AND LEADERS have told us to go forward with this event. The Rebbe would have NEVER accepted these bans. It wasn't his way and it's not the right way for any person, but thats THEIR problem. We have our own leaders, we do what THEY say. If Chabad Rabanim would have agreed to this ban then we would have to listen, but otherwise we have no reason to listen to Gadolim who have for 40 years done nothing to reach out to us or show us any real respect.